Review of Only the Brave (2017) by Shpostal — 26 Oct 2017

Hollywood releases a "gotcha" movie with a telling of the true story and tragedy of a group of Arizona firefighters out of Prescott who become certified as "hotshots", the best of the best that risk their lives during fire seasons to put out forest fires all over the parched West and Southwest.

We would indeed be very mean to criticize the intent of this film, but it also reeks of emotional exploitation, and that does the sacrifices of the Granite Mountain Hotshots injustice, all of whom except one who was sent out to scout and base camp at the Yarnell fire perished when ferocious winds switched directions and killed the crew, who were in fireproof bags, but the flames were too hot and their protection just couldn't last long enough for them to outlast the firestorm.

While I always enjoy Josh Brolin, a fine actor if there ever was one, and the rest of the cast are fine in their roles, this film spent more time being a social commentary about the lives of the firefighters and stresses on their families, which, after a while, became the cliche festival we have to put up with from writers taking the easy way out.

Not that such concerns are invalid- far from it. However, it's repeated over and over - the couples fight, make up, the big picnic and watching the crew harass each other good naturedly, as if to make us feel part of the "gang", as it were.

And of course the bar scenes that rightfully cheer the men after saving their town, but cross the line into maudlin quickly. While I am not one who just wanted nothing but a fire holocaust for a movie, there remained a lack of their actual work in other places, details on how firefighters attack wildfires not just on the ground, but from the air, and other methods that should have presented a more whole picture that would have paid respects to the air crews, firefighters who paratroop behind the fire lines and other equally brave people that were ignored.

In fact, the only mention of the water from aircraft were when they made mistakes. However, because the movie will raise awareness of the Granite Mountain Hotshots and other heroes in firefighting, one shouldn't dismiss the movie's weaker points.

Just spare us the "heroic" commentary, and next time you Hollywood people want to "recognize" bravery, avoid the soap opera feel you seem so inclined to throw in. How about a movie about the Yellowstone Park Fire of 1988? That cataclysm was beyond imagination, the damage astonishing, and the firefighters from all over the nation equally worthy of your attention in LaLa Land, which itself is surrounded by fires most of the late summer every year.